Kennings in Beowulf: Examples

Lesson Transcript

This lesson shows you examples of kennings, or (1) _____ phrases, in the Old English epic poem 'Beowulf.' After this lesson, you'll understand what a kenning is, the purpose of a kenning, and examples of kennings in 'Beowulf.'

Background to Beowulf Beowulf is an epic poem written in (2) _____. It is the story of the warrior, Beowulf, who comes to ght the monster, Grendel. Grendel has been attacking the hall of the Danish king, and so the Danish king asked Beowulf to come and help. Beowulf kills Grendel, but then Grendel's mother comes after Beowulf in revenge of her son. Beowulf kills Grendel's mother too. The last of Beowulf's feats is killing a dragon that ends up killing Beowulf as well.

Beowulf is full of kennings, a literary device common in Old English poems. Kennings were used to add description, richness, and meaning to the poem. The kinds of kennings in Beowulf include words to replace battle words, God, Grendel, and the sea.

Defining Kenning Kenning is a two-word (3) ____ used in place of a word. A kenning is a literary device used in Old English or Norse poetry. Basically, a kenning was a fancy way of talking about something, which is why it was used in poetry. Instead of saying ordinary words like 'sea,' 'armor,' 'god,' or proper names like 'Grendel,' Old English used (4) _____ words, or joined words, in place of one word.

Unlike an actual metaphor or simile where the word that is being replaced is named, such as 'the queen was like a gazelle' or 'the queen was a gazelle,' a kenning would not say 'the queen'. A kenning would just replace a word like 'the queen' with '(5) _____', and the reader would be expected to know that 'gazelle' was referring to 'the queen'. Because a kenning does not say the word that is being compared, just the compound phrase in its place, a reader must already know before (6) _____ a text that, for instance, 'sail-road' means '(7) ______.'

Examples of Kennings in Beowulf Sail-road = the sea

1/2 To Scandinavian heroes, peoples, and cultures like Beowulf and the Danes, the sea was an important part of their everyday lives. There were many names for the sea in Old English poetry. The poet uses the kenning sail-road for sea because it was like a road that ships would sail on. The sea was also called the swan road and the (8) _____ road in Old English poetry.

Battle-sark = armor Sark is another word for a shirt, so in essence 'battle-shirt' was the kenning used for armor. Because Beowulf is a poem that describes a lot of battles, fights between Beowulf and various monsters, war words like 'armor' were used often. These war words were replaced by kennings, such as battle-(9) _____ for armor.

Glory of kings = God, Wielder of glory = God, and Wielder of worship = God The importance of religion in Beowulf is particularly evident in the many kennings for 'God'. Instead of saying the word 'God', the poem uses glory of kings, wielder of glory, and wielder of worship. The words 'glory' and 'wielder' tell us that God is seen as full of (10) _____ and as a wielder, a warrior in a fight for good and evil.

Shepherd of evil = Grendel and Monster of evil = Grendel Grendel is the main villain in Beowulf and he is called by various names including shepherd of evil and monster of (11) ____.

Purpose of Kennings You might ask, 'If a kenning just replaces a word, what is the point of a kenning? Why not just use the original word?' Well, kennings add an extra layer of meaning. Kennings make the description and the story (12) _____. By saying 'sail-road' instead of 'the sea' the poem adds a description that tells the story of a people that travel by boat often. Calling God a 'wielder of glory' gives some insight into how the people who told the story of Beowulf might understand God.

Lesson Summary The use of (13) _____ in the Old English poem Beowulf replaces words with metaphorical phrases. The purpose of a kenning is to add an extra layer of description, richness, and meaning. Beowulf has many examples of kennings, including kennings to replace words about the (14) _____, battle, God, and (15) _____.

Beowulf's Word-Hoard: -- metaphorical -- kennings -- sea -- glory -- sark -- whale -- reading -- gazelle -- compound -- sea -- richer -- Grendel -- metaphor -- evil -- Old English.

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